Abstract. Adaptive reuse is an important strategy for achieving sustainability as it ensures a continuous building life cycle and prevents building destruction. Adaptive reuse has the greatest potential to lower the environmental load of the built environment significantly within the next 20 to 30 years. But, the owners and practitioners still lack of point of references to justify and evaluate their decision making with regard to the adaptation practice. The aim of this paper is to explore the unique criteria of decision making among practitioners in the application of adaptive reuse of existing buildings. The descriptive study has identified five main criteria influenced in decision making in adaptive reuse that effected to the sustainable development; economic, environment, social, legislative and architecture. We designed a questionnaire to determine the most significant criteria in decision making for adaptive reuse towards sustainable development among practitioners. The paper describes the process in identifying the unique criteria and the proposed methodology for the study.

Abstract. Public transport stations need to provide access and facilities for people with disabilities (PWD) in fulfilling the requirements of the Malaysian Standard Code of Practice on Access of Disabled Persons (MS). However, most public transport stations in Malaysia are reported as still lacking in terms of providing good designs and facilities for the PWDs. This inaccessible environment affects the PWDs to negatively participate in the social and economic mainstream. The research aims at identifying the compliance of disabled facilities provided at the electronic train service (ETS) railway station in Perak. Two research objectives were established (1) to identify the range of disabled facilities provided at the ETS railway station in Perak and (2) to determine the compliance of the disabled facilities as outlined in the MS. Eight ETS railway stations in Perak were chosen for the case study. Purely qualitative methods were adopted. An observation checklist was developed by conducting document analysis on three main documents. The findings suggest that there are 14 disabled facilities to be provided at the ETS railway stations. Majority of these facilities are available and comply with the MS. Conversely, some improvement can be made to further promote sustainability atmosphere of the ETS railway stations.

Payment in the Malaysian construction industry has generally been an issue of concern. Late and non-payment problem is endemic in construction and needs to be addressed. The aim of this study is to investigate the issues related to late and non-payment based on the building materials suppliers’ perspective. Questionnaires were distributed to suppliers of building materials in the Klang Valley. Findings from the study shows the main cause of late and non-payment is the paymaster’s poor financial management while the main effect of late and non-payment is problem with the cash flow.  The most recommended possible solution to cope with the issue is for the paymaster to conduct training on financial and cash flow management to the management team in the company.

Abstract. The success of Malaysian construction companies creates an opportunity to explore abroad. Past studies have shown that the difficulty of expatriates in adjusting to a new environment is the main aspect that leads to failure of assignments. The success in implementing an overseas assignment does not solely depend on an expatriate's technical expertise. The adjustment issues such as the interaction with the host nationals, and adaptability to the host country's culture also exert influence on the assignment. The research was conducted to identify the influence of executive expatriate general adjustment on assignment in host countries. The objective of the study was to identify adjustment influence factors relating to general adjustment abroad. Questionnaires were sent to Malaysian expatriate executives. Sixty four Malaysian expatriate executives from Malaysian construction companies overseas were involved in this study. The findings show interaction, social and living environment influences their adjustment during expatriation. Pre-departure training preparation aspects for expatriates is a good step before their departure to host countries.

Apart from shelter, traditional houses were built to accommodate the spiritual factors such as religious, cultural values and way of life. Thus, it tends to evolve over time to reflect the environmental, cultural, technological and historical context in which it exists. This paper discusses the development of architectural style on the Malay traditional houses in Perak. It is based on data collectively gathered from KUTAI researchers conducted since 1997. More than 400 houses were observed. Architectural transformation found in the roof design, spatial organization, architectural elements and decorative elements within the period of 150 years. Findings of this study strengthening and establish the Perak Malay architectural style.